U.S. initial jobless claims fall by 6,000 to 331,000 last week

The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell more-than-expected last week, hovering near the lowest level since October 2007, official data showed on Thursday. 

In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 23 fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 331,000.

Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 337,000, from a previously reported 336,000.

Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 5,000 to 332,000 last week.

Continuing jobless claims in the week ended August 17 fell to 2.989 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.980 million from last week’s figure of 3.003 million.

The four-week moving average was 331,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 330,500.

The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.

Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.72% to trade at 1.3243.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.35% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.35%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.45% advance.